State rep wants Aplets and Cotlets to be state candy

Aplets and cotlets, those delectable Washington-made candies, are indisputably delicious. But should they be our official state candy?

State representative Mike Armstrong thinks so. The Wenatchee Republican has introduced a bill to make Aplets and Cotlets Washington’s official candy.

Armstrong says teenagers in Centralia dreamed up the idea. They wrote to the legislator asking him to create the Aplets and Cotlets bill.

But, Armstrong says, this isn’t just a high school project. He sincerely believes the candy should have a place of honor.

“It’s made with products from Washington based agriculture and is part of our identity,” Armstrong said.

It’s unclear whether the bill has much of a chance of passing. But even if it does, the honor would be purely symbolic. We have lots of strange official symbols ranging from the state amphibian (the Pacific Chorus Frog) to the state vegetable (the onion).

The bill may, however, kindle a tongue in cheek debate with lovers of Almond Roca. In 2001 a legislator introduced a bill that would have designated that crunchy treat as the state candy, but it failed to pass.

This whole brouhaha has taken Liberty Orchards, the makers of Aplets and Cotlets, by surprise, according to company President Greg Taylor.

“I am surprised. It would be a wonderful thing, but it’s not something we sought out,” Taylor said.